Six Killer Bodies by Stephanie Bond Read Free Book Online

said, “and her body was cremated.”
    “Natural?” Chance asked. “How did they explain the
    chicken charm in her mouth?”
    Everyone was quiet for a few seconds. Finally, Wes said,
    “No one did.” He shot a glance toward the kitchen
    window.
    “So Coop could’ve put it there himself?” Chance asked.
    “No,” Hannah said firmly.
    “I was there,” Carlotta said. “I saw him pul the charm out
    of the woman’s mouth. Now, what very few people know
    is that later, I found an entry Shawna Whitt made on a
    Web site set up for people who were charm fans. So, she
    was into charms, even though a bracelet wasn’t found in
    her home. She’d also asked for recommendations for
    online dating services.”
    “So she could’ve met the creep there,” Hannah said.
    Carlotta nodded. “Then we have the second victim, Alicia
    Sil s.”
    “Carlotta, Wes and I went to pick up her body,” Hannah
    said to Chance.
    “How’d she die?”
    “It looked as if she’d fallen from a stepladder and hit her
    head,” Carlotta offered. “But when we moved the body, a
    charm shaped like a cigar fel out of her mouth, like this
    one.” She dug the charm out of a baggie, then set it next
    to the chicken.
    “The autopsy stated she died of blunt force trauma,” Wes
    supplied, “but the M.E. couldn’t determine if it was from
    the fall or if someone had hit her.” He glanced toward the
    window again, as if he was afraid someone would appear.
    “Was Coop there?” Chance asked.
    “No,” Wes said. “He called and asked me to do the
    pickup.”
    “Did he give a reason?” Chance pressed.
    Wes scratched his head. “I just remember him saying it
    would be better if I did it.”
    Silence boomed around the table. Carlotta decided not to
    mention that Peter believed Randolph had had an affair
    with the woman years ago—not yet anyway.
    She cleared her throat. “The third victim was Pam
    Witcomb, street name Pepper. She was stabbed in a room
    at the High Crest Motel.”
    “Pepper?” Chance asked. “I know a prostitute named
    Pepper.”
    Hannah glowered.
    “Might be the same woman,” Carlotta said, although she
    found it hard to believe that Chance knew only one
    Pepper. “She hung out on Third Street and West
    Peachtree.”
    “Dang,” Chance said. “I think I might have lost my virginity
    to her.”
    Carlotta gave him a tight smile. “Not relevant, but thanks
    for the image. Anyway, the charm in her mouth was a car.
    I don’t know the exact one, but let’s use this one for now.”
    She set the generic car charm with the others.
    “How did you know Pepper hung out on Third and West
    Peachtree?” Chance asked Carlotta.
    “I met her one night while I was waiting for Coop—” She
    stopped and swallowed. “To pick me up.”
    “So Coop saw her, too?”
    “I…suppose so. But they didn’t talk or anything.” Stil , a
    disquieting sensation began to niggle at the back of her
    mind.
    “What about the fourth victim?” Hannah asked quickly.
    “She was an assistant to the District Attorney, wasn’t
    she?”
    “Right. Cheryl Meriwether. She was found shot to death in
    her home. The charm in her mouth was a gun.” She set a
    charm of a handgun on the table.
    “Did Coop know this woman?” Chance asked.
    Wesley shrugged and looked to Carlotta.
    “Not that I know of,” she said. Although he had attended
    her memorial service….
    “Since she worked in the D.A.’s office, he might have
    known her from…before,” Wesley said, his eyes darting
    back to the window.
    “Before what?” Hannah asked.
    “Coop made a mistake a few years back when he was the
    Chief Medical Examiner,” Carlotta said. “The story is that
    he was drinking and driving and came upon a car accident.
    He stopped to help and declared a woman at the scene
    dead.”
    “Except she wasn’t dead,” Wes supplied. “And because
    she didn’t receive medical care right away, she almost did
    die. Coop lost his job.”
    “Jack said he had to spend some